Digg’s new app is basic, but a great start

Digg is making a comeback. With the backing of group for illustration Digg cofounder Kevin Rose and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, Digg has ambitions to erstwhile again beryllium the homepage of the internet. The revival is still successful its very early days — the level is still invite-only — but Digg launched its caller mobile apps this week, and I installed the iOS app connected my telephone to spot what it’s like.

New Digg operates likewise to Reddit: group taxable links that others tin remark and ballot on, and links pinch a batch of “diggs” (upvotes) will bubble up the feed. You tin besides pat a downvote-like “bury” button, but connected posts (not comments), the hide fastener functions much arsenic a awesome to Digg to minimize that type of contented successful your ain feed.

The Home tab has 4 main categories: Trending, Most Dugg, Newest, and Heating Up. I’m not wholly judge what the quality betwixt “Trending” and “Heating Up” is, but the contented successful the second class did consciousness fresher.

Within each of those categories, you tin person the app aboveground contented from “My Feed,” which pulls from communities you follow, aliases “All Digg,” which pulls from each of Digg. (There are only a fewer wide communities disposable correct now: /AMA, /art, /digg, /diggnation, /entertainment, /finance, /food, /funny, /gaming, /lifestyle, /music, /news, /offbeat, /politics, /science, /sports, and /technology.) Under the categories, you tin besides spot a horizontally scrolling carousel of different links, though I’m not rather judge really the app picks which ones to show there.

Tapping into individual posts shows things for illustration the matter of the station and an included image aliases a link. For posts pinch links, you’ll spot a seemingly AI-powered “TL;DR” summary written by “Digg Intelligence” astatine the extremity of the post. (I haven’t noticed immoderate issues pinch the summaries truthful far.) Under the main posts, you tin publication threaded comments and Digg aliases hide them.

It each looks good. And it mostly functions good enough; a mates times, the app showed an correction connection aft I opened it, but aft a while, things would activity arsenic expected.

But assuming those are conscionable impermanent blips and extended issues aren’t the norm, it’s still conscionable measurement excessively early to show if Digg has the juice. A awesome portion of Reddit is uncovering a hyper-niche organization astir thing you attraction about, but since users can’t make communities yet, I’ll person to support getting my Hollow Knight: Silksong memes from r/silksong. Since Digg is still invite-only, location conscionable aren’t that galore group aliases posts connected the tract yet; it mightiness beryllium a while until the level sees immoderate genuinely legendary comments.

Digg besides has acold less features than Reddit correct now. There’s nary measurement to chat privately pinch users connected the platform, for example. But depending connected what you deliberation of the existent authorities of Reddit, that could beryllium a bully thing.

I deliberation Digg’s iOS app has a awesome instauration (as does the web app, which launched successful July), and there’s a batch of room for it to get amended pinch caller features and much users. I don’t cognize if Digg will beryllium the homepage of the net erstwhile again, but it does astatine slightest look for illustration a spot you mightiness want to travel backmost to.

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